Jeri Smith-Ready has been writing fiction since the night she
had her first double espresso. Her debut novel, urban fantasy
e-book REQUIEM FOR THE DEVIL (Time Warner, 2001), won First
Place in the National Writers Association Novel contest.

November 2006 saw the release of Jeri’s first print novel,
romantic fantasy EYES OF CROW (Luna Books). It features a world
where everyone has magic according to their Guardian Spirit
Animal—sort of X-MEN meets CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR.

EYES OF CROW has been nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewers
Choice Award for Best Fantasy and the Colorado Romance Writers
Award of Excellence for Best Paranormal.

Jeri keeps her head in the real world by fostering dogs for
animal rescue organization Tails of Hope. So far she has helped
thirteen shelter dogs find homes with loving families.

An Interview with Jeri
Smith-Ready

PNR: Have you always
known you wanted to be a writer; when did you begin writing?

Jeri Smith-Ready:
I’ve always loved reading. My grandmother told me if I didn’t
“get my nose out of a book,” I’d end up needing glasses. By the
time I was eight, it was too late!

I was always
making up alternative storylines to the comics I was reading,
and later, to the soap operas I watched.

But I never
considered being a writer. Over the course of my life I wanted
to be an actor (I would of course play the character I’d made up
for General Hospital, who would of course have John Stamos fall
in love with her), psychologist, veterinarian, environmental
lawyer, editor, and dog trainer.

Then one
night in my mid-twenties, I went to a coffee shop to watch a
very loud blues band. With a caffeine overdose and no way to
carry on a conversation over the music, I concocted in my head
the first scene from a mystery/romance/spy thriller/science
fiction/comedy novel that is now safely tucked away in a drawer
where it can't embarrass me. Once I'd caught the writing bug, I
never wanted to do anything else ever again.

PNR: Could you tell
us about your writing routine, how do you balance writing and
personal time?

Jeri Smith-Ready: I
despise routine, so I keep changing it to trick myself into
working. I’d love to write first thing in the morning so it
wouldn’t be hanging over my head all day, but the quality of my
work is highest after 4PM, which is unfortunately the time my
beasts (two cats and usually two dogs) start badgering me to be
fed.

I confess, I
don’t balance writing and personal time very well right now.
I’m lucky that my husband also has a creative business of his
own (web design), so he understands why we never have time to go
to the movies or watch TV. Most of our evenings are spent side
by side on our laptops. Romantic, huh?

It’s like
anyone trying to build a new business--for at least the first
few years, the personal time gets crunched. I write two books
and one new proposal each year now. My goal is to be able to
afford to write just one (wildly popular, best-selling) book a
year by the time I’m 50, so I can get my life back. Maybe raise
some chickens.

PNR: Most writers are
avid readers, is this true for you? What titles would we see in
your TBR pile? Who has most influenced you?

Jeri Smith-Ready: I
like to read a little of everything--romance, sf/f, horror,
mystery, young adult, mainstream, literary fiction. Having a
TBR pile stressed me out, so now my new books go right on my
shelf in their proper alphabetical place. Since I’m terrible at
making decisions, I have a random number generator select a
number between 1 and 26, then pick an unread book on my shelf
with an author whose last name starts with the corresponding
letter of the alphabet.

And I just
realized that made me sound like a complete freak.

Early on my
biggest influences were Margaret Atwood, Carl Hiaasen, Douglas
Adams, and Elmore Leonard. Now I think my voice is developed
enough that I’m not influenced by what I read. Inspired, yes.
There are so many fantastic authors out there, and sometimes I
find their writing painfully beautiful. I’ll see a unique turn
of phrase and think, “Wow, that amazing way of describing
something has now been taken, and I’ll never be able to say it
like that.” Of course, I can come up with my own way of sharing
the world that might be equally beautiful, but at that moment
it’s like I’m mourning a phrase that will never be mine.

PNR: How do you feel
popular urban fantasy differs from traditional fantasy?

Jeri Smith-Ready: I
write both urban and traditional fantasy and find the former
comes more naturally. Everything in the world around me is
potential fodder for plots and characters in an urban fantasy.
I can use every word in my vocabulary, including slang and
colloquialisms. Basically, I can write the way I think. Urban
fantasy, in my opinion, has greater room for moral complexity.
Heroes and heroines don’t always have to be heroic.

On the other
hand, traditional fantasy provides more of an escape, for both
reader and writer. When the headlines are depressing, I can
imagine a better world, one where good always triumphs over
evil. And ironically, when I’m forced to stretch myself into
“unnatural” territory, I work harder and perhaps write better
books.

PNR: Your work is
very popular with readers and reviewers; how does it feel to
have such positive recognition for your work?

Jeri Smith-Ready: It
feels great! I was thrilled to get a Top Pick from Romantic
Times and be singled out by them as an up-and-coming “hot
commodity” of fantasy fiction. Then one of my favorite
novelists, Charles de Lint, gave Eyes of Crow a glowing review
in Fantasy and Science Fiction. His fiction touches on a lot of
similar themes--and he’s a big fan of crows--so it was the
ultimate validation. I can die happy now.

But none of
the reviews mean as much as hearing from readers that the story
touched them. That’s the ultimate goal and purpose of writing
for me—to entertain others. It’s nice if I can make them think,
too.

PNR: Readers are
drawn into the magical, mythical world you have created. Tell us
about the challenges you face in world building and making it
work with the ideas you have in mind for the progression of your
characters? Could you tell us about the mythology behind the
Guardian Spirits?

Jeri Smith-Ready: The
challenge when working with an “invented world” is to make it
accessible enough to relate to and yet fantastical enough to
transport readers out of their everyday lives. I like to make
my characters very real and human--i.e., with a lot of flaws and
complexities. The key is to remember that people living in a
different type of society than ours would be human in a slightly
different way.

As for the
mythology, EYES OF CROW takes place a few thousand years from
now. It all began with the mid-21st-century Collapse and
Reawakening, when the Spirits called certain people to follow
them and build a new way of life. It’s sort of like The
Rapture, but the chosen people get to stay here and survive
rather than be taken away. I wrote an urban fantasy serial
short story about the Collapse and Reawakening for my
publisher’s website entitled “The Wild’s Call.”

http://www.eharlequin.com/article.html?articleId=1233

The basic
concept of the Animal Spirit comes from a spiritual practice
called “core shamanism,” a term coined by anthropologist Michael
Harner. In the 1950s and 60s, Harner lived with several tribes
in different areas of the world, and he noticed that their
spiritual practices had certain elements in common. The idea of
the Power Animal, a helping spirit that embodies qualities of
the shaman, is one of those elements.

So I took
this concept of the Power Animal to its magical extreme and made
up the rest. I’m always fascinated by the ways people divide
themselves, so having conflicts and prejudices among different
“Animals” is fun territory to explore.

PNR: Rhia is a strong
heroine who must overcome her fears to fulfill her destiny, and
readers have really connected with her; could you tell us about
the development of her character? Would you describe your
writing as female focused?

Jeri Smith-Ready:
Most of my protagonists feel guilty for something horrible
they’ve done (redemption is a big theme for me). Rhia, however,
feels guilty for what she hasn’t done, for what she let her fear
keep her from doing. She starts out a bit of a coward, unlike
many “kick-ass” fantasy heroines who throw themselves into the
fray without a second thought. I suppose readers find Rhia easy
to relate to in that respect. She has to overcome her fears,
not by ignoring them or “stiff-upper-lipping” her way through
life, but by meeting them head on and taming them the best she
can.

I don’t think
of my writing as female-focused. In fact, Eyes of Crow was the
first book I’d written from a female POV. My three previous
novels were all from a single male POV. I think it was because
I’d mostly grown up reading books written by men, for men, and
about men. That was my default way of thinking. Plus, the
stories I came up with seemed better suited for men. If I were
to depict the Devil as a woman, it might be considered
misogynistic, or at least gimmicky. Besides, he’s Lucifer, the
fallen angel. Definitely a dude.

Also, except
for my total lack of spatial relations and mechanical ability,
my mind usually works more like a man’s. I love football, beer,
and Kevin Smith films. I hate shopping, white wine, and talking
about other people’s children*. You couldn’t pay me $100 to
stop and ask for directions.

*except my
nieces and nephews, who are all fascinating.

PNR: Do you feel your
writing is character driven or plot driven? How do you balance
these two elements?

Jeri Smith-Ready:
Character-driven, definitely. I don’t really think of it as
finding a balance, because the plot comes out of the
characters. Whenever I’ve tried to cram a character too tightly
into a pre-fabbed plot (from an outline, for instance),
something inevitably feels “off.” I get that little, “She would
never do that” alarm going off in my head.

PNR: Could you tell
us a little about how you develop your characters? Who has been
your favorite character to write? The most challenging?

Jeri Smith-Ready:
Lucifer was my favorite, once I got used to hanging out inside
the mind of the Devil. He’s just so cool, even when he’s not.
It was fun to imagine what it would be like to be the second
most powerful being in the universe, but at the same time be so
incredibly, humanly vulnerable when it comes to the people he
loves.

Rhia was the
most challenging, partly because she was my first female
protagonist, but also because her culture is so different from
ours. They’re much more socially oriented, with a stronger
instinct to serve the community, even at the expense of the
individual’s desires. Her people don’t get a choice of Guardian
Spirit or magic—the Spirits call them based on what their
society needs for the challenges of the future. Rhia is as
individualistic and “modern” as anyone can be in her
circumstances, but she still has to be a realistic part of that
world.

PNR: How would you
describe the sensuality level of your books; do you find it
challenging to write love/sex scenes? How much of a role do
Rhia’s relationships play in her story and to what extent does
it drive the plot?

Jeri Smith-Ready: It
varies from book to book. REQUIEM had lots of sex in it, but it
was depicted evocatively, rather than graphically. EYES OF CROW
is more explicitly sensual, but it’s fairly tame compared to
what’s out there these days. Its level of sensuality fits with
it being primarily a fantasy with romantic elements (as opposed
to an out-and-out romance). I would consider EYES OF CROW
appropriate for older teens to read, and indeed, it seems to
have found a following in that age group.

My vampire
books (more on them later) are a lot more graphic, but not to
the point of being considered erotica.

I enjoy
writing love/sex scenes, because it’s a great way to reveal
character and develop a relationship. They require lots of
polishing, though, to achieve the desired effect—one sour note
or “snort-worthy” phrase can ruin the mood. A love scene has to
be as carefully choreographed as a battle scene, with the right
rhythms and beats (as double-entendre-ish as that sounds).

PNR: You have written
urban fantasy in REQUIEM FOR THE DEVIL, and traditional fantasy
in EYES OF CROW; what is it about the fantasy genre that
captures your imagination? Is there a genre you haven’t written
but would like to try?

Jeri Smith-Ready: I
think it’s the kid in me who never grew up. It’s wondering,
“What if that panel in the wall led to a secret cave?” or “Maybe
I could fly if I ate enough Pop Rocks.” When I was 5, I made a
pact with God to turn me into a cat when I turned 9. The
four-year delay was in case I changed my mind, and so I could
get my affairs in order.

I’d love to
write mainstream stories that are a little “straighter” and less
dependent on fantastic elements, because nothing to me is more
wondrous than the human psyche. However, I think I’d always
want to put at least a touch of magic in my stories. It’s no
fun otherwise.

PNR: Voice of Crow,
the second book in the Crow series, will be released in October
2007; can you give us a sneak peek? What are your plans for the
series?

Jeri Smith-Ready:
Yep, I just finished Voice of Crow and am really excited about
it. We see the world through four points-of- view: Rhia, Marek,
Alanka, and Filip. Filip is a Descendant prisoner-of-war who
had a cameo near the end of EYES OF CROW. I never intended him
to turn into a major character when I wrote EOC—it was one of
those happy surprises. Voice of Crow also takes us to new
lands: to the seaside village of Velekos and to Leukos, the
dreaded Descendant city itself.

Though VOC
begins just a few days after EOC ends, in the second book all
the characters are forced to grow up and learn to take
responsibility for their world. Whereas EOC is a coming-of-age
story of one young woman, VOC is more of an action/adventure
ensemble piece. But the book is still Rhia’s, and her
challenges and heroics are larger than anyone else’s.

Wings of Crow
(Fall 2008) is the final installment of the trilogy. It takes
place a generation later, after enormous upheavals have occurred
in the lands of the Reawakened. I’ve just started writing it,
and it’s like creating the world all over again because so much
has changed—and not for the better.

That will be
it for the Aspect of Crow series. I’m not big on eight-book
trilogies. I might one day do a prequel novel or novels about
the Collapse and Reawakening, perhaps using the characters from
“The Wild’s Call.”

PNR: Could you tell
us about your current projects, what can readers expect to see
in the coming months? Do you have any additional series in the
works? Single titles?

Jeri Smith-Ready:
Next spring (tentatively May) will see the debut of my vampire
series from Pocket Books. BAD COMPANY is about a cadre of
vampire DJs and the con artist trying to redeem her sordid past
by saving their radio station from corporate takeover. These
vampires are musically and psychologically stuck in the eras in
which they were turned, so they still wear the fashions and
speak the slang of their particular decade. There’s a blues
vamp, a rockabilly vamp, a hippie vamp, etc. The
commitment-phobic heroine falls hard for the grunge vampire, who
of course is a tortured soul in ripped jeans and Doc Martens. I
love music, so that series is a real treat for me to write. Its
sequel, BAD TO THE BONE, will come out in 2009.

I’m also
working on a proposal for a young adult futuristic fantasy
trilogy that will be a distant sequel to REQUIEM FOR THE DEVIL.
It features Lucifer’s and Beelzebub’s daughters as high-school
seniors.

PNR: Thank you Jeri,
for taking time out to talk to us. Where can readers find out
what’s new and how can they contact you?

Readers can
also subscribe to my e-mail newsletter (http://www.jerismithready.com/contact/).
It comes out a few times a year, whenever I have something worth
saying. Each newsletter issue has at least one contest.
(Secret hint: there are special prizes for the first three
people who reply to the newsletter.)

For Rhia was bound
to the Spirit of Crow, gifted with the foresight of Death's
approach and doomed to the isolation of one feared and set
apart.

There must always be
one whose magic can ease the passage of the people of Asermos to
the Other Side. But to be the guide her people require, to truly
know the depth of her gift--her curse--Rhia must surrender
herself to the wisdom of the Great Forest…and drink deeply of
Death itself. And though two powerful men stand ready to aid
her, even to love her, the Aspect of Crow demands unthinkable
sacrifices from one who walks its path.

Set in
modern-day Washington, D.C., REQUIEM depicts the end of the
Devil's ten-billion-year career. For the first time in his
existence, Lucifer falls in love, and this event threatens
to transform his identity and perhaps even his destiny.
Gianna O'Keefe is the woman who drags him out of his ancient
despair and points him toward possible salvation.

Yet Lucifer's
path from evil is neither straight nor smooth. Pursuing love
means betraying his fellow fallen angels, the loyal friends
who once followed him to damnation. Divine and infernal
forces seem to conspire against his and Gianna's union.
Lucifer's empire crumbles around him as he dares to defy the
natural order and question his fate.